Shareholders vote to continue Doicești implementation plan
Nuclearelectrica will continue developing the Doicești small modular reactor project after shareholders rejected a proposal to review the implementation strategy, alternative technologies and possible project locations. The decision was taken at the company’s General Shareholders’ Meeting on 15 July 2026. The Romanian Ministry of Energy, holding a majority stake, backed continuation of the roadmap approved in 2022.
The outcome keeps the existing development approach in place rather than restarting key choices around technology and siting. It also sets the basis for ongoing work related to commercial arrangements and state support. The next major update is scheduled for September 2026, when Nuclearelectrica plans to provide shareholders with an updated progress assessment.
NuScale module talks and government support discussions continue
Nuclearelectrica and project company RoPower Nuclear will continue negotiations with NuScale Power. Talks will focus on the commercial terms for supplying SMR modules and on the wider project framework agreement. Discussions with the Romanian Government will also continue regarding financial support and other conditions required before a final investment decision.
The project’s development status remains tied to unresolved prerequisites for moving forward. Nuclearelectrica has stated that it cannot enter the Pre-EPC phase until all final-investment-decision conditions are met. Government support, commercial terms, risk allocation and the financing structure are still not settled.
First-of-a-kind deployment and contractual risk allocation issues
The decision preserves continuity but does not remove central risks identified for the project. Doicești would be the first commercial deployment of NuScale’s technology, introducing technical, financing, construction and operating uncertainties compared with an established large-reactor design. These factors affect how obligations are structured across the project lifecycle.
For lenders and strategic investors, first-of-a-kind technology creates a contractual challenge for the engineering, procurement and construction package. The package must allocate design-performance risk, module-delivery risk, licensing obligations, schedule delay and cost escalation among parties with sufficient financial capacity to absorb them.
Strategy review rejected; timeline depends on unresolved conditions
A strategy review could have reopened both technology selection and site selection, but it would also have delayed development and reduced the value of work already completed. Shareholders opted instead to keep the existing platform while negotiating outstanding commercial terms and state-support arrangements.
The project remains active without a final investment decision and without access to Pre-EPC. As a result, it sits in a development stage where political commitment is stronger than contractual certainty.
